Heywearde History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Heywearde was carried to England in the enormous movement of people that followed the Norman Conquest of 1066. Heywearde is a name for a person who was in charge of protecting an enclosed forest from damage by vandals, animals, and poachers. The name was originally derived from the Old English haye, which meant enclosure.[1]CITATION[CLOSE]Lowe, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print. Another source notes the name as an occupational name as in " 'the hayward,' a keeper of cattle, literally 'hedge-watcher'". [2]CITATION[CLOSE]Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)

"The duties of the hayward were of a varied nature. His chief task seems to have been to guard the cattle at pasture; but he also protected the crops from thieves, trimmed the hedges, etc. In old poems he is generally represented as carrying a horn." [3]CITATION[CLOSE]Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print

Early Origins of the Heywearde family

The surname Heywearde was first found in Lancashire at Heywood, a town and chapelry, in the township of Heap, parish and union of Bury, hundred of Salford. "Heywood, in the Saxon, denotes the site of a wood in a field, or a wood surrounded by fields; a family of the same name resided here for many generations. " [4]CITATION[CLOSE]Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print. Heywood Hall was long the residence of the ancestors of the baronet's family. [1]CITATION[CLOSE]Lowe, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.

As an occupational name, early records were scattered as the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list: Adam le Hayward in Devon; Roger le Hayward in Buckinghamshire; and Alicia le Heyward in Huntingdonshire.

The YorkshirePoll Tax Rolls of 1379 list Robertus Hayward; and Magota Hayward. [2]CITATION[CLOSE]Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)

Early History of the Heywearde family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Heywearde research.Another 138 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1497, 1580, 1570, 1641, 1497, 1580, 1570, 1641, 1630, 1702, 1693 and 1756 are included under the topic Early Heywearde History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Heywearde Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Hayward, Heyward, Haward, Haywood, Heywood and others.

Early Notables of the Heywearde family (pre 1700)

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir John Hayward, a noted Elizabethan historian; John Heywood (1497?-1580), an English poet, friend of Sir Thomas More, and a court musician and entertainer for Henry VII, Edward VI, and Queen Mary; Thomas Heywood (c.1570-1641), an English... Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Heywearde Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Heywearde family to the New World and Oceana

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Heywearde or a variant listed above were: Hugh Haward settled in Virginia in 1624 with his wife Susan; Thomas Hayward settled in New England in 1634 with his wife Susannah and five children; Samuel Hayward settled in New England in 1687.